


Leap Of Faith

by unsaltysaltines



Series: The Eagle Bearer [2]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types, Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Also she loves stressing Waverly out, Blink and you'll miss it Xena tribute, F/F, Nicole and Wynonna are ridiculous, Nicole is a bad patient…as per usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:55:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28022025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsaltysaltines/pseuds/unsaltysaltines
Summary: Nicole and Waverly settle into a routine while on the road, a familiar face drops in, and Waverly has some questions about one of Nicole's favourite pastimes.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Series: The Eagle Bearer [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021788
Comments: 5
Kudos: 43





	Leap Of Faith

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back to Greece!
> 
> While this isn't intended to be an official ~multi-chapter~ fic…if you're at all familiar with the plot of AC: Odyssey, you might notice a familiar plot thread or two starting to show up.
> 
> Also, there's a very subtle Xena tribute in there, because this *is* ancient Greece, after all.
> 
> Enjoy!

Travelling with Nicole meant that every day was nothing short of an adventure. The redheaded _misthios_ could hardly sit still for more than a couple of days in one location, and was always five steps ahead of herself planning where they would go next.

Not only was she always ready to move on to the next destination, Waverly very quickly learned that the other woman was _fearless._

If a job required her to scale the outside of a building, Nicole would give it a try without hesitation. There wasn’t much Waverly was unwilling to try, but that ranked high on her list—instead, she kept a safe distance with Calamity, constantly on the lookout for any sign of trouble that might endanger Nicole. When she’d finished her business inside, Nicole would climb out on a courtyard wall or appear on the roof, grinning like a smug asshole once she made eye contact with Waverly.

Somehow, she rarely got herself caught, for which Waverly literally thanked the gods at every opportunity—if she stumbled across an offering to Athena or to the three Fates, she would always be sure to contribute something in their wake, just in case.

_Scaling_ a building or two, however, had nothing on the stress that the warrior caused Waverly every time she decided to _jump off of them_.

“ _Malákas…_ ” Waverly sighed as she watched Nicole slither out a window and climb up to the roof of the Athenian city official’s home, where she’d been recovering some stolen goods, instead of climbing down like a normal person.

Waverly only looked on as Nicole scanned the ground carefully before taking a running leap into the air. She held her breath and watched as Nicole did a neat flip in midair and landed with a soft _whump!_ in a nearby pile of hay before righting herself and jogging to where she knew Waverly to be concealed.

“Did you _have_ to do that?” Waverly groaned as she climbed carefully down from the tree where she’d been tucked away, bow ready at the slightest sign of danger. “Jump off the roof like that?”

“The opportunity was right there!” Nicole exclaimed. “Why _wouldn’t_ I?”

“It just makes me nervous,” Waverly admitted as she wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck and looked up at her. “I don’t want to watch from a distance as you get yourself killed because you misjudged the height or distance or just…landed wrong.”

Nicole grinned and leaned in to capture Waverly’s lips in a gentle kiss. “I don’t quite know how to describe it, but I can promise you…I won’t.”

“Does it have something to do with that spear? Because that thing seems to have…otherworldly properties,” Waverly said.

“Maybe,” Nicole said, “but I’m not being purposefully mysterious; I do mean it when I say I’m not sure _what_ protects me. I only know that I am, in fact, protected. You have nothing to worry about.”

“That won’t _stop_ me from worrying about you, you know,” Waverly said quietly, resting her forehead against the warrior’s.

“I know. But trust me…I wouldn’t put myself in danger if I didn’t think I could get myself _out_ of it.”

Obviously she couldn’t promise _not_ to put herself in danger, Waverly conceded, but the reassurance that she only took on what she could handle provided Waverly a small amount of relief.

***

It was only a matter of time before she and Nicole ran into Wynonna while travelling, but Waverly wasn’t expecting their first meeting to be quite so…dramatic.

Nicole never kept it a secret from Waverly that sometimes, bounties were placed on her _own_ head as she went about her day-to-day activities. It was bound to happen that, as a hired sword, her actions might upset powerful people with the drachmae to hire one of Nicole’s competitors to take her out—or try to, anyway. Nicole was nothing short of lethal, _particularly_ when surprised by other mercenaries on the road.

Waverly was setting up camp while Nicole gathered firewood, when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, as though she were being watched. 

“Hello?” Nicole called tentatively. 

She slowed her pace and turned her attention to the surrounding bushes and trees. The slight breeze of the late afternoon rustled through the grass, but Nicole didn’t hear approaching steps. Even so, she reached for her spear slowly, still not able to shake the distinct feeling that someone was watching her.

“Show yourself!” Nicole barked at the empty clearing. “And I promise I’ll make quick work of your innards!”

With a shrill, ululating cry, someone launched herself out of a bush and onto Nicole’s back. Nicole gripped the stranger’s arms and flipped her over and off her back, onto the ground, and barely had time to pull her sword from its sheath before the brunette stranger launched herself at Nicole again, her own weapon drawn.

“I’m going to collect that bounty on your head, _misthios_!” The interloper cried as she lunged forward, her sword clashing loudly with Nicole’s.

“Who the fuck _are_ you?!” Nicole grunted as she parried the blow and rolled to the side. 

“I’m your _end_ , Eagle Bearer,” the stranger growled through gritted teeth. She was a small, but formidable presence, her leather and bronze armour glinting in the sunlight and blue eyes fierce as she met and deflected Nicole’s own blows. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Nicole could see that the commotion had been intense enough to draw Ikaros down out of the sky. With a loud screech, the eagle dove from the sky, and Nicole smirked as she stood back to watch him dive-bomb the other mercenary mercilessly.

“ _Hey!_ What the _fuck?!_ ” The other woman exclaimed, covering her head with her arms as she stumbled backwards, eventually tripping and landing on her ass.

“Ikaros, enough,” Nicole said in a commanding tone. She walked forward and pushed the brunette back down on the ground with a foot to the chest. “I’ll give you one minute to tell me who sent you before I send you _straight_ to Hades!”

“ _Nicole!_ ”

Waverly’s voice rang through the air seconds before she came exploding out of the brush, clearly out of breath from running.

“ _Waverly?_ ” The woman beneath Nicole’s foot looked over incredulously.

“ _WYNONNA?!_ ”

Waverly darted forward and pulled a confused Nicole off the brunette mercenary, who scrambled to her feet and took a step back, weapon still raised.

“Baby girl, what the _fuck_ is happening?!” She exclaimed.

“Waverly, is this…your _sister?!_ ”

“Weapons _away,_ both of you!” Waverly exclaimed. “ _Yes,_ Nicole, this is my sister Wynonna.”

“ _Nicole?_ ” Wynonna asked incredulously. “Waverly, what the hell are _you_ doing here?”

“ _Malákas…”_ Waverly sighed. “Everybody back to the campsite. _Now._ ”

Like puppies that had just been kicked, Wynonna and Nicole followed Waverly back to the campsite in an awkward, stunned silence.

“ _Drop_ them,” Waverly said firmly, gesturing to both warriors’ weapons. “I’ll not have swordfighting over my campfire.”

Nicole very quickly learned that the other mercenary was, in fact, Waverly’s older sister. The Peacemaker had been hired, by her account, by a shady figure in town to take Nicole out before, by _her_ account, she got a chance to steal the Quest Items communications from his home in town.

“Hopefully you’re a _misthios_ with some common sense, Wynonna!” Waverly exclaimed. “Because I’ll never forgive you if you’re only waiting to kill her in the middle of the night.”

“Hold on a minute…” Nicole said, holding up a finger to quiet them both. “I think I’ve just had an idea.”

Waverly groaned deeply as she watched a familiar, wicked grin spread across Wynonna’s face and, to her horror, saw the same expression mirrored in Nicole’s.

***

Waverly agreed to accompany Nicole _and_ Wynonna on the mission, standing guard the same way she usually did for Nicole. She didn’t trust her sister _not_ to try to kill Nicole again, which made her even more anxious than she usually might be. On the one hand, she was glad the two had met but on the other…

…well, Wynonna _had_ been sent to kill Nicole, after all.

Waverly left Calamity behind a thick tree trunk and rept into the woods behind the small home on the edge of town. The shadows she knew to be Nicole and Wynonna scaled the wall as she watched—both were noticeably more jerky and uncoordinated, and at one point Waverly had to cover her face with her hands when she noticed one of the figures awkwardly kick the other in the side, nearly sending her flying.

“ _Idiots,_ ” Waverly hissed.

The two women came running back in her direction after what felt like an entire eternity, and Waverly could hear them bickering quietly, under their breath, as they went.

“Would you two _malákas_ idiots shut up?” Waverly hissed once they were in earshot. “So we can get out of here _alive_?”

Waverly led them to where Calamity and Wynonna’s horse, Argo, were tethered, and they all mounted in silence. Once they’d ridden an acceptable distance, Waverly heard Nicole and her sister begin bickering anew.

“Did _you_ get what you needed, Nicole?” Waverly asked in a pointed attempt to derail the arguing.

“Certainly did,” Nicole said smugly. “Found the letters I was looking for, _and_ he won’t be bothering either of us ever again.”

“Good,” Waverly said. “Now let’s get back to camp; I’m exhausted, and I’m sure you two must be as well.”

To her relief, the campsite hadn’t been touched while they were gone, and Waverly watched as Wynonna produced her own bedroll from her saddlebags and quietly made herself comfortable next to her sister. The three women fell asleep quickly, Waverly in the middle, Nicole curled up protectively beside her as always.

Waverly woke the next morning to an empty space on one side of her, and a bleary-eyed Wynonna just beginning to stir on the other.

“Where’s Red?” Wynonna mumbled sleepily as she sat up and took in her surroundings. “I didn’t…accidentally kill her in my sleep, did I?”

“ _No,_ Wynonna, you didn’t,” Waverly sighed. “She’ll be back, no worries.”

“So…” Wynonna began slowly. “What the fuck are you doing all the way out here, anyway?”

“Nicole helped me solve a little bandit problem I was having a few months ago,” Waverly said with a soft smile. “And things sort of…happened from there.”

“ _Gross!_ ”

“Not ‘gross!’” Waverly exclaimed. “I’ve loved every minute of this.”

“But…a _mercenary?!_ ” Wynonna groaned. “You’re not worried?”

“About her?” Waverly asked. “Not at all; I think Nicole can probably handle herself.”

“I meant about _you!_ ” Wynonna said, shoving her sister playfully. “About your own safety!” She swallowed hard, her tone not quite hiding the worry in her eyes.

“I mean…not really,” Waverly said slowly. “It was just as much a risk staying put on my own, maybe _more_. My combat skills are getting better; Nicole is teaching me things in our spare time, and I’m teaching her in return.”

Wynonna whistled. “Sounds like a good enough tradeoff, I guess. Not good enough to keep _me_ from worrying about you, though.”

“Wynonna, I _promise,_ ” Waverly sighed. “Nicole is more than capable of protecting me, but also…I don’t _need_ protection.”

“She’s good to you?”

“Wynonna…I’ve never met _anyone_ like her,” Waverly said quietly, unable to hold back a massive smile. “Despite her tough warrior exterior, she’s sweet and she’s funny and she…asks me _questions_.”

Just then, Nicole returned, satchel slung across her body.

“I brought breakfast,” she said, meeting Waverly’s eyes as she smiled. She reached into the satchel and pulled out a loaf of bread, some cheese, and a handful of figs—Waverly’s favourite. Waverly gave the redhead a chaste, gentle kiss as she settled herself beside her, lingering just a moment too long when she heard her sister make exaggerated gagging sounds behind her.

***

Wynonna ended up riding with them for several more days. It had been nearly two years since Waverly had gotten to spend any amount of time with her sister, and Nicole was helpless in the face of Waverly’s request, especially once she learned that piece of information.

There was no better way for Nicole to get to know the older Earp sister than through the art of sparring, which she was game for at nearly any time of day. Nicole already knew that Wynonna was a formidable opponent, thanks to the circumstances of their initial meeting, but Nicole found she quite enjoyed sparring with the brunette warrior. With every conversation Nicole could sense that Wynonna was sizing her up, assessing her fitness to be a companion for her younger sister, and neither of them went easy on the other in practice.

Waverly noticed that after each bout, the tension between the two women seemed to ease a little more, as they each came to the gradual realization they were on even footing with each other. That’s all she could have asked for, really—for her sister and her companion _not_ to be at each other’s throats. The budding friendship they seemed to be developing was simply…a delightful bonus.

Though, Waverly couldn’t say she was all too thrilled when they came across a tall, abandoned outlook post on a hilltop and her sister challenged Nicole…to jump off the top.

“ _Malákas…_ ” Waverly groaned as she slid off Calamity’s back before Nicole. “You’re both going to get yourselves _killed_.”

“No way, baby girl!” Wynonna crowed. “Not if we land in all that straw!”

Waverly watched through her fingers as her sister quickly scrambled up the wooden scaffolding and jumped, not unlike the way Nicole often did, from the top, landing with a surprising amount of grace in a conveniently placed pile of straw.

“Be _careful_ …” Waverly pleaded as Nicole kissed her quickly.

“Always.”

No amount of pleading was going to stop either of them, and before long they were challenging one another in increasingly risky, acrobatic ways. Waverly simply sat on a nearby rock and watched in stunned, horrified silence as they played their game and tried her hardest not to completely lose her mind.

“Baby girl, we can teach you too, y’know!” Wynonna cried from the top, before letting out a loud cackle and jumping again.

“No thanks,” Waverly said weakly. “I think I’ll stay put…here on the ground…”

***

By the time they had to part ways again, Waverly was more than satisfied with the bond Nicole and her sister appeared to have forged.

“I’ll try to be in touch more, okay?” Wynonna said quietly, pausing as she packed Argo’s saddlebags. “Somehow…we’ll figure it out. I _really_ don’t want a repeat of the last couple years.”

“Neither do I,” Waverly said. “But I think we’ll cross paths more often, now that we’re both travelling.”

“The Eagle Bearer’s all right, you know,” Wynonna said, letting her gaze wander over her sister’s shoulder, to where Nicole was stoking the campfire. “Glad I didn’t kill her before I got a chance to get to know her.”

Waverly flung her arms around her sister’s neck in a bone-crushing hug.

“Thanks, Wynonna.”

Her sister rode off, and Waverly watched as she gradually disappeared into the woods. She heard Nicole’s soft footfalls behind her, and Nicole wrapped strong arms around her waist, pulling her close.

“I’m glad you two were able to meet,” Waverly said. “Admittedly, not under the most ideal circumstances, but…”

Nicole snorted. “ _That’s_ for sure. Though, that was probably the _only_ way your sister and I were ever going to cross paths without actively trying to do so.”

“I should have expected that, actually,” Waverly said with a soft smile. “I wonder when we’ll run into her again.”

“We talked a little last night,” Nicole said quietly. “I told her that we were on our way to Athens, and she said she might be able to meet us there, but she didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

“Why not?” Waverly asked quizzically.

“She mentioned something about a…cult?” Nicole said tentatively. “I know much less than she does, but it _did_ sound like her search for more information was going to lead her to Athens eventually. So we may meet again there.”

“I hope so,” Waverly sighed. “I miss her.”

“The two of you seem close,” Nicole said as she hauled herself up onto Calamity’s back and offered her hand out to Waverly for her to follow.

“Actually, we fell out of touch for a while, when I was younger,” Waverly said, resting her head on Nicole’s shoulder as she gently nudged Calamity into motion. “But we reconnected a few years ago and grew a lot closer.”

“I hope we meet up in Athens, I really do,” Nicole said. “I’m intrigued by this cult that she’s invstigating.”

“She spoke very highly of you, you know,” Waverly said, dropping a gentle kiss on Nicole’s exposed shoulder. “In spite of the whole…trying to kill you thing. Normally, she would _never_ discuss a lead with someone she’d just met, let alone a potential rival.”

“I guess I’m just that special, then,” Nicole said, her smirk coming through loud and clear in her tone.

***

After riding a sufficient distance for the day, Nicole guided Calamity to a stop in a clearing so they could camp for the night.

“Nicole, I have a question,” Waverly said quietly once they’d settled themselves in front of the fire.

“Ask away.”

“Why do you and Wynonna both _insist_ on jumping off of buildings and scaffolding the way you do?” Waverly asked bluntly. “I don’t mean to whine,” she added, “but I just…worry.”

Nicole, who was already reclining comfortably beside her, sat up and kissed Waverly gently, a grin crossing her face.

“It’s…hard to describe,” she said slowly. “Some describe it as a ‘leap of faith.’ It’s a trust that if you jump…you’ll land. Safely. Obviously, you wouldn’t leap off of something if you don’t know where you’re going to land, what’s going to catch you,” she added. “But once you get over the initial fear of it…it’s exhilarating.”

“What does it feel like?” Waverly asked. 

“It feels like flying, just for a moment,” Nicole said. “Backed up by the knowledge that you’ll land and you’ll be safe. I’m sure I could teach you, if you wanted.”

“Not yet, _definitely_ not,” Waverly said quickly. “I mean, I’m not even over my fear of the ocean yet.”

“You’re getting stronger in the water, though!” Nicole exclaimed. “But of _course_ I’m not going to force you to try something you’re not comfortable with. This is less a survival skill—like learning to swim—and more something that’s just…fun.”

“I suppose it makes more sense when you put it like that,” Waverly said. “But it still makes me nervous.”

Nicole grinned and kissed the side of Waverly’s neck gently. “Sorry we stressed you out so much, Waves.”

“I can think of a _number_ of ways you could make that up to me,” Waverly murmured, straddling the taller woman’s lap and draping her arms loosely around her neck. “If you _really_ wanted to…”

“Is that so?”

Waverly leaned in and kissed Nicole slowly.

“How about you get out of all that leather and I’ll show you?”

  
***

They reached a small coastal town a couple of days later, and Waverly was unsurprised when Nicole got the same mischievous look in her eyes once again. 

“You’re _joking,_ ” she said in disbelief when Nicole pointed out that they were approaching the perfect diving platform—a cliff edge that stuck out above the ocean.

“I’m not!” Nicole exclaimed. “This is the perfect spot to dive off—come look for yourself.” She beckoned for Waverly to join her at the cliff’s edge.

Waverly approached the redhead tentatively—though she was getting better, heights still made her nervous. Sensing her hesitation, Nicole took Waverly’s hand and wrapped her arms securely around the shorter woman’s waist as they looked out over the vast, open ocean in front of them.

“What exactly makes this a ‘perfect’ spot, anyway?” Waverly asked shakily. She gripped Nicole’s arms tightly as she looked out, concerned less with the ocean itself than with the massive, lethal-looking dropoff and the jagged rocks that littered the whole way down.

“Walk forward with me. Just a couple more steps,” Nicole said, and Waverly could practically hear her grin. “So you can see what I’m talking about.”

Waverly peered over the edge with Nicole, feeling her knees go weak as she did so.

“See how the water is on a sort of…gradient?” Nicole said, pointing out the difference as the ocean moved further away from the coast.

“Yeah…”

“That’s an indicator of how deep the water is. You _never_ want to try diving if you’re unsure of how deep it is, or if the water is anything less than that deep, deep indigo…there,” she said, pointing to a specific point. “If you do, there’s a good chance you’ll break your fucking neck.”

“I don’t think I’ll be trying that, but that’s good to know,” Waverly said with a weak grin. 

“Honestly, I think I prefer a good dive into the water to just about anything else,” Nicole said quietly. 

“That makes sense,” Waverly said with a laugh. “You _do_ love the water, don’t you?”

While Waverly was _still_ getting used to travelling on the Adrestia—the seasickness, in particular, threw her for a loop every time—Nicole was right at home on the ship. They made frequent stops, sometimes in the middle of the open ocean, where Nicole would dive off the side in search of a long-abandoned shipwreck. The redhead could hold her breath for a truly impressive amount of time, but it still stressed Waverly out all the same, until she resurfaced with that same smug grin on her face she always got when a mission went off without a hitch.

“I grew up on an island; I was two kilometers from the beach almost all the time,” Nicole said softly. “What can I say?”

“How badly do you want to jump right now? Waverly asked with a smirk.

“ _Very_ badly,” Nicole said frankly.

“Go for it, then.”

Waverly untangled herself from the other woman’s strong arms and stepped aside as Nicole grinned and shed her weapons. Her stomach clenched as she watched Nicole approach the edge slowly, shoulders rising and falling slightly with each deep, centering breath. With one final breath, Nicole launched herself gracefully off the edge; it was almost as though time slowed around her as Nicole brought her arms over her head into a perfectly streamlined diving position. She entered the water with hardly a splash, and Waverly held her breath for the several seconds it took her to resurface and begin swimming back to shore.

She had to admit, there _was_ something beautiful about it, even if she never decided to try it.

***

As they travelled, the weather began to change gradually, shifting from warm and humid to cool and rainy, with storms seeming to follow them everywhere they went. After nearly a week straight of nonstop rain, and at Nicole’s distressed request, Waverly finally broke down and visited a merchant in the next city they passed through for warmer, more weatherproof clothing.

“Thank the gods; I’ve been feeling you shiver like mad behind me for _days,_ ” Nicole said frankly. 

“And what about _you_?” Waverly asked, raising an eyebrow in Nicole’s direction. “Running around in all kinds of weather with so much skin exposed?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nicole said, feigning ignorance. 

“Nicole, you’re going to get sick!” Waverly exclaimed.

“I haven’t fallen ill in _years!_ ”

Nicole was, of course, fudging the truth, but she couldn’t help it—she was stubborn, and she knew it.

“ _Years?_ You think you’re a big, tough _misthios_ , eh?” Waverly asked sarcastically as she watched the warrior dress in her own—much less protective—armour.

“Waverly, you _know_ I can’t move around in that long, restrictive stuff!” Nicole exclaimed.

“It’s the rainy season; you’re going to catch your _death_ running around in that silly armour!”

“I’ll be _fine!_ ”

Waverly crossed her arms across her chest—that was covered with a much more weather-appropriate tunic, she might add—and rolled her eyes at the tall warrior as she strapped her sword to her back.

“ _Fine_ ,” Waverly huffed. “But don’t complain to me when I have to nurse you back to health because you’ve fallen ill!”

Nicole smirked as she wrapped her strong arms around Waverly’s waist and pulled her in close, and Waverly rolled her eyes again as she braced for whatever line the _misthios_ was about to drop on her.

“But you _will_ take care of me?” Nicole dropped a kiss on the tip of Waverly’s nose. “Did I understand that right?”

“You _know_ I will.”

Almost as though Waverly were a bonafide oracle, Nicole fell ill a couple of days later.

The rain pounded outside as they huddled together in an abandoned cave on a hill, Nicole sweaty and feverish in Waverly’s lap, and Waverly biting her tongue to keep from telling her “I told you so.”

Nicole had plenty of outstanding bounties and obligations on her plate, and she kept mumbling about everything she had to “take care of” in between coughing fits.

“Baby, if things are that pressing, I could always help you get things done, you know,” Waverly said quietly. 

“No, no,” Nicole mumbled. “You didn’t sign up to do my dirty work. I’ll be fine tomorrow…or a couple days from now…soon.”

“Sure, sure,” Waverly said softly. “Whatever you say, Eagle Bearer.”

Nicole’s entire face scrunched up in adorable displeasure at the nickname. “I’m _sick_ , you shouldn't be teasing me like this.”

“You know I can’t resist,” Waverly said. She smiled fondly down at the redhead who, despite her grumpy expression, looked like she was about to fall dead asleep. It was hard for Waverly to be upset with her for not wearing enough layers in the cold, _especially_ when Nicole kept looking up at her with the wide, innocent eyes of a puppy.

“I’ll be fine in the morning…” Nicole mumbled, though Waverly wasn’t quite sure to _whom_. “Just need a good night’s sleep…”

“Nicole, you realize the sun is still out, right?”

Whatever it was Nicole mumbled next, Waverly couldn’t make out a word of it, but it ended with Nicole hooking her arms around one of Waverly’s outstretched legs, effectively pinning her in place.

“Oh, I see,” Waverly said with a smirk. “So I’m just…”

“Not going anywhere,” Nicole mumbled. “Stay right here.”

For the next couple days, Waverly didn’t stray far from the cave, only leaving when they absolutely needed food. She didn’t say anything to Nicole at all about the passing time, knowing for sure that if she realized how long she’d been idle Nicole would absolutely run off and do something foolish.

Like raid a Followers of Ares camp, for example.

Waverly went for a walk to get them some food on the fourth day, and returned to find an empty cave.

“ _Malákas_ ,” Waverly sighed. She knew _exactly_ where Nicole had taken off to. Nicole had been tracking a band of particularly violent Followers of Ares who were terrorizing a nearby village, but had gotten sick almost immediately upon their arrival.

Quickly, Waverly gathered the rest of their supplies before whistling for Calamity. It took a minute, but eventually Waverly could figure out which direction the horse was approaching from. She hopped up on the horse’s back and rode off in the same direction, able to hear the unmistakable sound of swords clashing from somewhere deep in the woods.

Calamity stopped on her own, and Waverly quickly dismounted and concealed herself in the bushes. She kept an eye out for that familiar flash of red hair as she crept closer and closer, ready at the drop of a hat to leap over (or under) the fence and into combat alongside her.

“ _Nicole!_ ” Waverly yelped, springing up from her hiding place as the redhead finally came stumbling through a break in the fence, one arm tightly clasped across her abdomen.

“Got ‘em…all…baby…” she said between laboured breaths, eventually finding her way into Waverly’s waiting arms.

“ _Malákas,_ but at what cost?! Come here,” Waverly said firmly. She whistled again for Calamity as Nicole collapsed in her arms. 

Waverly eyed the sky as she knelt beside the injured redhead. Unsurprisingly, it looked like it was going to rain again.

“Nicole, you can’t just barge in places and start swinging swords left and right!” Waverly hissed. “We’ve _discussed_ this!”

Nicole just grinned sheepishly, and Waverly rolled her eyes as she used her teeth to tear off a strip of cloth to use as a bandage.

“I know,” the redhead said, drawing out the syllables, “but it’s just—“

“—Don’t you DARE—“

“—so much FUN.”

“ _Malákas_...” Waverly sighed. “It’s a good thing you’re cute.”

Nicole’s cheeky grin quickly turned into a grimace of pain as Waverly wrapped her injured abdomen tightly.

“Sorry,” Waverly said quietly. “I know it hurts. We’re taking it easy until you heal up a little, got it?”

Nicole sighed and nodded. She knew she would be of no use when she was this injured.  
  
“Are you okay to get up on Calamity?” Waverly asked. “I don’t think we should stay out in the open right now. If we go into town, we can find a room and just…lay low for a little while?”

While she may have phrased it as such…Waverly wasn’t making a suggestion.  
  
Nicole nodded and let Waverly help her to her feet and onto the horse’s back before climbing on behind her. She hissed as Waverly clicked her tongue and the horse started moving.

“Sorry, baby,” Waverly said again. “We’ll take it slow.” She leaned forward and dropped a soft kiss on Nicole’s exposed shoulder in an attempt at a comforting gesture.

“At least those bastards aren’t going to be bothering this village anymore,” Nicole said with a groan. “And nobody will come looking for us.”

“Well _you,_ ” Waverly murmured, grinning in spite of herself, “are _not_ leaving my sight. Got that?”

Nicole only responded with a small nod, leaning back against Waverly’s torso a little heavier. Her breathing was noticeably heavier, more laboured, and Waverly was anxious to get to town and find them a place to stay.

Waverly had barely dragged Nicole off Calamity’s back before the rain caught up to them again. The innkeeper was a kind woman who immediately took pity on them; she showed them to a secluded back room and offered to bring them whatever they needed.

“Let’s get this armour off of you,” Waverly said quietly. “Just lean on me, okay?”

Nicole obeyed quietly. Between her returning fever and the injury to her abdomen, she could feel her body threatening to pass out as she rested her hands on Waverly’s shoulders.

“That sword got you good, didn’t it?” Waverly asked gently as she unwound the makeshift bandage around Nicole’s middle and undid the final tie on Nicole’s armour. 

“Y-yeah— _AH!_ ” Nicole cried as her armour brushed over her wound and sent an instant wave of pain through her body. Her legs went weak, and she would have collapsed right there if not for Waverly’s strong arms holding her up.

“Let’s just get these off so I can clean that wound properly,” Waverly said gently. “At least it’s stopped bleeding.”

Nicole shivered as Waverly helped her out of her torn clothes and _finally_ down to the floor, where she settled gingerly on the soft mattress. She held her breath and tried to contain the chills that were flooding her body with renewed vigour while Waverly carefully cleaned and rebandaged the wound on her abdomen, her hands strong and gentle.

“H-hand me the needle and thread,” Nicole said, her teeth chattering. “I need to mend those clothes.”

“You’re ill _and_ injured,” Waverly said firmly. “You’re not doing _anything_.”

“F- _fine_ ,” Nicole said with a pout.

“ _Please_ listen to me this time,” Waverly said quietly. She ran her fingers gently over the expanse of flesh she’d just bandaged tightly before reaching for a blanket to cover Nicole’s quivering body. “You could _die_.”

“But I _won’t_ , cutie,” Nicole said, shooting Waverly a grin even though her voice was heavy with exhaustion. “Happens all the time.”

“ _Nicole…_ ”

“It’s part of the job,” Nicole tried to insist weakly.

“I _know_ it is, but…Nicole, I love you,” Waverly murmured before bending over to kiss Nicole’s forehead gently.

Nicole’s eyes widened and she smiled softly up at Waverly. “You…”

“I love you,” Waverly repeated quietly. “And I don’t want to lose you. So just…be more careful next time, would you? For me?”

“Y…yeah,” Nicole breathed. “I can try that, I think.”

Waverly stood up so she could strip down to her own undergarments and settled herself beside Nicole again, scroll in hand.

“I could read to you, if you want,” Waverly said quietly, pushing some hair off of Nicole’s feverish forehead.

Nicole nodded. “Waves?”

“Hm?”

“I love you, too.”

That wasn’t the first time Waverly had to patch Nicole up after a fight, and she knew in her heart that it absolutely wouldn’t be her last. She read to the warrior until she fell asleep with her head in her lap, and Waverly gently ran her fingers through Nicole’s vibrant hair over and over.

**Author's Note:**

> MANY thanks to [Deputyydipshit](https://twitter.com/deputyydipshit) for reading over this and sharing all their knowledge of these games!
> 
> Next up: Athens?
> 
> [Come yell with me on Twitter!](https://twitter.com/unsaltysaltines)


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